Device for inducing sleep



Dec. 8, 1964 J. B. HOODY ETAL 3,160,159

DEVICE FOR mnucmc; SLEEP Filed Jan. 4. 1960 MULTIVIBRATOR CLIPPERAMP-y-4- CATHODE FOLLOWERS PATIENT ELECTRODES b 23 .QJJ

I c 25 PATI ENT ELECTRODES FIG. 3

t INVENTORS 1"" JUSHA BORISOVICH HOODY F162 VIACHESLAV PORFIRIEVICHKOOTINOV VASI LY SERG EEVICH BU LBA- POPKOV BY J2me; s jiiM ATTORNEYSUnited States Patent 3,160,159 DEVICE FOR INDUQZING SLEEP .lushaBorisovich Handy, U1. Kalinina 5, Apt. 18; Viacheslav PorfirieviclrKootinov, Lookov per. 10, Apt. 22;

and Vasily Sergeevich Eulba-Popkov, Potapovsiiy per. 5,

Apt. 14, all of Moscow, USSR.

Filed Jan. 4, 1969, Ser. No. 7,965 3 Claims. (Cl. 128-429) Thisinvention relates to a method of treating various diseases by sleep anda device for the realization of the method.

The invention provides a device for treating various diseases by sleepinduced by electric current pulses acting in the patients brain andsupplied to the patient through electrodes adapted to be secured on thepatients head, and has as an object the provision of a device for therealization of the method.

The described method is characterized in that in order to produce deepersleep in the patient, a combined form of electric current is applied,consisting of square pulses in combination with a galvanic, i.e.direct-current, component in the 25 to 130 cycle per second and higherfrequency range.

Electric devices of the stationary type intended for treating variousdiseases by artificially induced sleep are known. They include a pulsegenerator in the form of a self-excited multivibrator supplying thegenerated current pulses to a clipper for cutting the pulse peaks. Thepulses are thereafter applied onto the grids of parallel connected tubesoperating as cathode-follower stages. Output terminals are providedacross the cathode resistors Whereat the output volt-age is availablefor application through electrodes to the patient.

One disadvantage of these stationary devices is the impossibility ofusing them in field conditions, for sleep therapy in the home, as wellas during transportation of sleeping patients.

In the present device, this disadvantage is eliminated while reducingthe overall dimensions of the device and enabling it to be fed eitherfrom A.C. mains or from a dry element battery. The unheated tubefilament circuits for the electronic tubes are so designed that they canbe fed from separate windings of a transformer, with a parallelconnected resistance across each winding. Each resistance has a midtapwhich may be connected to the cathodes of the multivibrator, clipper andfinal amplifier.

The drawing shows, in FIG. 1, the circuit diagram of a portableelectronic device for treating, by artificially induced sleep, twopatients simultaneously. FIG. 2 depicts a composite waveform diagram,and FIG. 3 is a detail of the circuit of FIG. 1 to better explain theswitching of the pulse generator.

The device is mounted in a portable case separately from the supplysource (mains or battery) and consists of multivibrator tubes 1 and 2,clipping amplifier with grounded grid consisting of tube 3, and of twooutput stages 4 and 5, connected according to the conventional circuitdiagram for cathode-follower stages.

The number of sleep channels may be increased by means of connectingparallel operating cathode-follower stages according to the requirednumber of channels determined by the number of patients to besimultaneously treated.

Smooth alternation of the multivibrator frequency is etfected through apotentiometer R coarse alteration ice depending on necessity ofcontrolling either channel, with-' out interrupting the patientscircuit. Resistances R and R serve as shunts.

Output potentiometers R and R provide for smooth alteration of power.The output channels are indicated at 12 and 13.

The operation of the device may be better appreciated from aconsideration of FIGS. 2 and 3, wherein a typical superimposed wave isillustrated in FIG. 2, and the switching circuitry of the electronicpulse generator is depicted in FIG. 3. It is important to note theabsence of any coupling capacitors between the pulse generator,comprising tubes 1 and 2 and the remainder of the circuitry, includingthe output terminals 21-23 and 25-27, respectively provided for thepatient electrodes a. and b for the first patient and the patientelectrodes 0 and d for a further patient. The absence of such couplingcapacitors enables a galvanic or direct-current component to manifestitself at the output terminals for application to the patient via thepatient electrodes. Such a direct-current component is illustrated bythe ever present region, identified as the DC. region in FIG. 2, whereina train of repetitive square pulses is made up of the individual pulses31, and the average value is depicted by the dotted line '33. Thus, FIG.2 illustrates a composite pulse train superimposed upon a DC. orgalvanic component. The graph shows current along the ordinate, and timealong the abscissa, each extending from a common zero or origin.

The switching ofthe multivibrator comprising tubes 1 and 2 will next bedescribed, reference being bad to FIGS. 1 and 3. The function of themultivibrator is to transfer current alternately from tube 1 to tube-2to produce an output pulse across R whenever tube 2 conducts,establishing a potential drop across this resistor. The cessation ofcurrent in tube 1 causes its plate voltage at point 35 to rise towardthe B+ potential. Be-.

cause of the flow of condenser current of C through resistor R the platevoltage of tube 1 does'not immediately rise to the B+ value. The startof current in tube 2 naturally causes the plate voltage at point 37 tofall, because of the drop across resistor R Since the plate voltage oftube 1 is impressed across the seriescombination of condenser C andresistor R and the plate voltage of tube 2 is impressed across theseries combination of resistor R and condenser C the sudden change inplate voltages causes a condenser discharging current to flow out ofcondenser C and a charging current to flow into condenser C The flow ofdischarging current through resistor R biases the grid of tube 1negatively and prevents it from conducting; whereas, the flow of thecharging current through resistor R and the control grid 40 of tube 2biases it positively and thus keeps it conducting. As condenser Cdischarges and condenser C charges, however, the condenser currentsdecreaseexponentially and so the biasing voltages become smaller. Thenegative bias of tube 1 becomes so small that plate current startsflowing in tube 1 and the circuit triggers. The transfer of current fromtube 2 to tube 1 is followed by a similar series of events, such thatthe control grid 41 of tube 1 is maintained positive and the grid 4i) oftube 2, negative. Thus, as condenser C charges and condenser C3discharges, the condenser currents and the biasing voltages graduallybecome smaller until the circuit again triggers. The cycle isautomatically repeated, and its duration is under control of theselection of the condenser or capacitor switch 38 (PKG. 1), which mayselect any of capacitors C through C to serve as capacitor C in FIG. 3.Also, the relative value of the resistors R and K, may be selectedby anadjustment of potentiometer R to change the biasing applied to' tubes 1and 2, respectively, thereby altering the pulse duration or duty-ratiofor the generator.

In the foregoing analysis, it may be noted that the screen grid 51 andthe suppressor grid 53 of tube 1 (FIG. 1) are not necessary, and theyare accordingly tied together and to the anode of tube 1 at point 35.The screen and suppressor grids of the other tubes are similarly,respectively connected.

Thus, it may be appreciated that the output from the generatorcomprising tubes 1 and 2 appears across resistor R and is applieddirectly to the cathode 55 of tube 3. The output of the clipperamplifier tube 3 determines the grid potential applied to thecommonly-connected control grids 60 and 61 of tubes 4 and 5 at point 63between resistors R and R Again, it should be noted that a direct pathis provided Without resort to coupling capacitors. It should also benoted that the efiect of the clipper tube 3 is to eliminate any peaks orrounded regions from the tops of the pulses 31 of FIG. 2, so that theOutput pulses from clipper tube 3 are square, regardless of whether theywere peaked or rounded when applied from the generator tube 2 to theclipper tube 3.

The superimposed square pulses on the DC. level of FIG. 2 appear atpotentiometers R and R connected as the cathode-follower resistors fortubes 4 and 5. The output power is, of course, adjustable at thepotentiometers R and R to control the energy applied respectively to thepatients over patient electrodes a-b and patient electrodes c-d, but inany event, it is apparent that energy is available at all times, becauseof the steady state D.C. component manifesting itself beneath andbetween the square pulses 31, as clearly seen in FIG. 2.

What is claimed is:

1. A portable apparatus for artificially inducing sleep by the action onthe brain of electric current pulses, comprising electrodes adapted tobe secured on the patients head; an electronic pulse generator forproducing square pulses; and means connected to receive the output ofthe generator for developing a direct-current component andsuperimposing said square pulses onto said direct-current component forapplication to said electrodes, said last-mentioned means including acathodefollower connected electron tube having a cathode resistor acrosswhich the electrodes are connected for trans mitting the pulses to thepatients head.

2. A portable apparatus for the treatment of various diseases byartificially inducing sleep through the action of electric currentpulses applied to the brain, comprispulses; means for deriving adirect-current component; and means for superimposing the pulses on thedirectcurrent component, said last-claimed means comprising acathode-follower connected electron tube with a cathode resistor, saidcathode follower tube being connected to the clipper means forenergization by the pulses from the clipper means, and output terminalsconnected to the cathode resistor whereat said electrodes are connectedfor transmitting the pulses to the patients head.

3. A portable apparatus for artificially inducing sleep in one or morepatients by the action of electric current pulses on the brain,comprising electrodes adapted to be secured on each patients head; anelectronic pulse generator of square pulses; means for developing adirectcurrent component; means for superimposing the square pulses onthe direct-current component, comprising a plurality of cathode-followerconnected electron tubes, the output of each such electron tubeincluding a cathode resistor comprising output channels therefor, saidmeans for superimposing further com rising output terminals across eachcathode resistor whereat a pair of said electrodes is connected to thecathode resistor of each electron tube, each said pair of electrodesadapted to serve one patient; and means for independently controllingthe output current from each of the electron tubes.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,304,095 Hull Dec. 8, 1942 2,321,659 Connerty June 15, 1943 2,492,617Boland Dec. 27, 1949 2,498,882 Fizzell Feb. 28, 1950 2,532,788 SarnofiDec. 5, 1950 2,590,216 Schuhfried Mar. 25, 1952 2,641,259 Batrow June 9,1953 2,662,975 Schwarz Dec. 15, 1953 2,713,120 Mostofsky July 12, 19552,756,741 Campanella July 31, 1956 2,801,629 Edmark Aug. 6, 19572,827,040 Gilford Mar. 18, 1958 2,865,365 Newland Dec. 23, 19583,002,185 Bases Sept. 26, 1961 I FOREIGN PATENTS 1,177,325 France Dec.1, 1958 1,237,006 France June 3, 1959 OTHER REFERENCES Sarbacher:Encyclopedic Dictionary of Electronics, published 1959, byPrentice-Hall.

Erickson & Bryant: ElectricalEngineering, published 1958, by John Wiley&' Sons.

1. A PORTABLE APPARATUS FOR ARTIFICIALLY INDUCING SLEEP BY THE ACTION ONTHE BRAIN OF ELECTRIC CURRENT PULSES, COMPRISING ELECTRODES ADAPTED TOBE SECURED ON THE PATIENT''S HEAD; AN ELECTRONIC PULSE GENERATOR FORPRODUCING SQUARE PULSES; AND MEANS CONNECTED TO RECEIVE THE OUTPUT OFTHE GENERATOR FOR DEVELOPING A DIRECT-CURRENT COMPONENT ANDSUPERIMPOSING SAID SQUARE PULSES ONTO SAID DIRECT-CURRENT COMPONENT FORAPPLICATION TO SAID ELECTRODES, SAID LAST-MENTIONED MEANS INCLUDING ACATHODEFOLLOWER CONNECTED ELECTRON TUBE HAVING A CATHODE RESISTOR ACROSSWHICH THE ELECTRODES ARE CONNECTED FOR TRANSMITTING THE PULSES TO THEPATIENT''S HEAD.